Backyard Garden Plot Pictures – Week 45 of 52
Now that things have slowed down and we are pretty much in maintenance mode with our garden, the garden chores pretty much revolve around keeping the backyard picked up in between windstorms and working on small repairs these days.
We had a stretch of sunny days this past week so every chance I had I peeled back the plastic layers on our little poly tunnel/greenhouse and let the sun shine down on our carrots. At night I pull the plastic back over the hoops and secure it in place. Once the rain starts though I doubt I’ll be doing this.
Thanks to a bunch of reader comments, I’m not freaking out anymore about our cabbage plants. I was thinking I’d have to harvest them all before the first frost, but apparently cabbage are pretty frost hardy so I can pick them at my leisure. Which makes me very happy. I was beginning to have visions of serving cabbage soup for weeks on end. 😉
A view from the back deck.
I keep thinking I am going to do something with this big barked area but I still have not figured out what, if anything I’m going to do with it. At times I’ve thought about installing more garden boxes or a giant pumpkin patch but I’m just not sure what to do. {and if I’ll have the time/energy to work on another large garden bed.}
The chicken coop.
We had to spread pine shavings around the coop this past week because everything was turning into one giant muddy mess. Which is a total pain of course when you go to collect eggs or feed the chickens. Yuck!
Yep, all the potatoes are still under the mounds. Maybe someday I’ll dig them up. 😉
And last but not least, the raspberry patch. I’ll need to go through and prune the dead canes pretty soon and clean the beds a little, but you know what? It’s too cold outside to do stuff like that right now. Or maybe it’s just that I would rather take a few weeks off from gardening and stay inside and bake cookies instead. Call me lazy, but I’m tired.
Have a great Sunday everyone. Stay warm. 🙂
~Mavis
This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2013 Garden Seed Catalog HERE, or visit my online boyfriend Ryan’s blog HERE.
Up for a tour? Read about our behind the scenes tour of Botanical Interests Seed Company.
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Rochelle says
Looks like you have room for a small orchard by your back patio. Mine is much easier to care for than my garden. But boy howdy, do I get a lot of fruit! Luckily friends are always willing to come to a harvest/canning party. They help me with the work and provide the sugar & pectin; I provide the fruit and electricity to run the cook top. Everyone brings their own jars and lids. We then split the bounty evenly for our days work. Very fun!
Aliea says
Love watching the garden transform through the seasons! I’ve got a quick question – I’m new to western Washington gardening. My grandma had a super green thumb, and taught me the basics, but we’re from the South – what I know is so different (tomato techniques are toooootally different, as I found out). What I’ve been TOLD about gardening up here is so varied. We were told if we wanted a decent veg garden, we’d need to remove the bark mulch between the beds (here when we moved in); that the mulch harbors slugs and slug eggs. But your garden looks QUITE productive and healthy. What’s your take on the mulch? Pea gravel instead?
Norm G says
I thought the same thing about all the mulch. Each gardener needs to evaluate their needs and risks for various mulches or barriers. A friend of mine lives in a near desert area — slugs and cutworms are not an issue. In my area wood mulch should be avoided because shredded hardwood or bark in a garden here harbors slugs, voles and cutworms and encourages root rots. Early blight, late blight, and other spores blow or wash into the mulch and then splash up onto the garden plants. Some people here use burlap, but it has many of the same issues. That said, if you have a very large property, lots of shade, tons of rain, etc, then you may want to deal with the issues (I don’t) because other alternatives are very expensive. A neighbor of mine uses paving stones. Another pea gravel, but he has to keep adding more every year and it is more costly than bark, and yet another just lets his lawn grow between the raised beds. I suggest you call your local County Extension Office, ask for their Master Gardener Clinic, and ask them what is suitable for your area.